Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Google loses EU appeal and is fined a record $4B

axios.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

111–120 of 458 posts

Re: Google loses EU appeal and is fined a record $4B

#111

Post by izacus »

legitster wrote: post #15

So... What's the end result? Google has to charge for Android? Ask users their search preference?

Think of the situation with Chinese non-Google phones. You install your favorite app and it crashes on launch because the manufacturer messed with the system APIs.

You run another app and it gets killed in the background, not receiving messages, because it's not on the list of your phone manufacturer partners.

This is the situation with degoogled Android today - a huge compatibility mess.

Re: Google loses EU appeal and is fined a record $4B

#113

Post by beAbU »

londons_explore wrote: post #99
Normille wrote: post #70

Cool. The EU does have its [many!] faults. But they have a pretty good track record when it comes to consumer rights and consumer choice. Next up I'd like to see them do the same for the plethora of incompatible cordless power-tool systems out there as they did with insisting all mobile phones standardise on a USB connector.

The cordless power tools typically have the battery management system in the device , not in the battery. The battery tends to contain protection circuitry, but no logic that determines charge rate etc. That means every device manufacturer will claim, even if the law requires that devices must all have the same plug, that a competitors device drew too much current, or charged their battery too fast/too slow/at too a…

I'm not sure that I agree with this statement.

Many of the packs that I've seen the inside of has balancing circuitry included.

Also worth considering these packs are charged separate from the tool. So this means the tool cannot control the charge rate etc.

Lastly, based on my luddite eyes, the difference between makita, milwaukee, bosch, dewalt and ryobi batteries seem to me to only be a different keying in the plastic mating parts. This suspicion is amplified when you consider that some of these brands are made by the same company.

Re: Google loses EU appeal and is fined a record $4B

#114

Post by oblak »

tmoravec wrote: post #93
Normille wrote: post #70

Cool. The EU does have its [many!] faults. But they have a pretty good track record when it comes to consumer rights and consumer choice. Next up I'd like to see them do the same for the plethora of incompatible cordless power-tool systems out there as they did with insisting all mobile phones standardise on a USB connector.

> pretty good track record when it comes to consumer rights Are you sure EU has "pretty good track record" with these fines of Google, FB, et al.? If anything, I'd say the EU puts a mild theatre every now and then, and gives the US giants a free pass otherwise.

You have a point, though one must not forget who runs the world. Spoiler alert: it's not the EU. The bigger theater is forcing the big US bois to invest here (building data centers) by playing the privacy card.

Re: Google loses EU appeal and is fined a record $4B

#115

Post by adament »

samwillis wrote: post #71
BiteCode_dev wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We really need the equivalent of jail time for companies. Clearly after a certain size, fines do not cut it. Jailing executives is too hard, so laws should exist that remove the company from a market for x years or something, like if they were in a cell.

Rather than fine the company, fine the shareholders of public companies. If they can’t afford their share of the fine, then they have to sell their shares to pay it. That would immediately force them to comply. Edit: Although looking at that and this fine, if you own $1000 of google shares, you would owe $3…

But this is exactly what happens when you fine a company.

Unless you fine the company enough for it to go into bankruptcy in which case the shareholders are protected by limited liability and the creditors take the hit instead. But the bankruptcy angle is completely irrelevant to this case, none of the fines considered are close yo bankrupting Google.

Re: Google loses EU appeal and is fined a record $4B

#116

Post by trasz »

Normille wrote: post #75
esperent wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The 3 strikes law is a US thing.

One of the few areas where I think the US has got it right. No-one should need more than 3 chances to stop being a dick.

This law results in people landing in jail for being poor: https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/cruel-an...

Re: Google loses EU appeal and is fined a record $4B

#117

Post by registeredcorn »

samwillis wrote: post #71
BiteCode_dev wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We really need the equivalent of jail time for companies. Clearly after a certain size, fines do not cut it. Jailing executives is too hard, so laws should exist that remove the company from a market for x years or something, like if they were in a cell.

Rather than fine the company, fine the shareholders of public companies. If they can’t afford their share of the fine, then they have to sell their shares to pay it. That would immediately force them to comply. Edit: Although looking at that and this fine, if you own $1000 of google shares, you would owe $3…

I have investments in a lot of different companies. I have no idea if any of them are breaking the law. I have to assume that they aren't, because they have not been charged or convicted of any crimes previously. I have done as much due diligence as I can to assume that their company is financially solvent and stable. If they have lied to me about any of those things, I have no way of knowing until after the fact. Leaving my money in a savings account is not an option, because the interest rates are taxed, and don't even cover the cost of inflation, let alone give me any sort of growth for retirement. That means not only would I not preparing for my future, I would actively be losing money by not investing.

If a country violates international sanctions, should I be sent to The Hauge because I have bonds tied to the bridges and roads being built by that government?

To put it another way: If a restaurant is shut down for health code violations found in the kitchen, should the valet be lectured about proper food preparation?

Re: Google loses EU appeal and is fined a record $4B

#118

Post by saiya-jin »

yieldcrv wrote: post #16
typon wrote: post #9

What amount would these EU fines have to be to make companies like Google and Facebook decide to exit the EU?

probably 15-20% of annual revenue its psychology, the board or ceo would react preemptively based on the idea that shareholders would react on their behalf shareholders (if they have voting power at all) would react for the same result at higher fine amounts than that

Not annual, but projected maybe over decade... once you lose the market you lost it also next years. Lets not forget its 500 million of above-average rich folks that use google services extensively.

The fine would have to be in range of 100 billion for them to exit

Re: Google loses EU appeal and is fined a record $4B

#120

Post by oblak »

londons_explore wrote: post #108
tmoravec wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> pretty good track record when it comes to consumer rights Are you sure EU has "pretty good track record" with these fines of Google, FB, et al.? If anything, I'd say the EU puts a mild theatre every now and then, and gives the US giants a free pass otherwise.

What really matters is how many dollars did they take from european citizens and businesses, and how many tax and fine dollars did they return. Europe needs to make sure these tech giants get to keep just enough money that they don't pull out of europe entirely, but not much more. Big fines are a start, but a better approach is taxation, since that takes away the regulatory risk for the companies.

Huh? The EU tech sector would absolutely love the US giants pulling out (phrasing) of Europe. Who wants to fight all these behemoths that pay almost no taxes here because they "invest" so much
Post reply on HN